How to Make Ricotta

When I told my friend, Charlotte, that I was planning on making my own ricotta this week, she asked me jokingly, "What, do you have a cow in your backyard or something?" Perhaps this is one of those things that falls into the category of annoyingly homespun, like brewing your own kombucha or making soymilk from scratch (the latter of which, I have been known to do.)

But, I had a carton of organic milk and a partially-used one of organic cream in the fridge and, nearing the end of their lives, I didn't want them to spoil. I like to think that it was a practical decision. After all, organic dairy isn't cheap. And besides, I'd bought figs.

So, I thought it would be a good time try my hand at homemade ricotta. Truth be told, this recipe was a bit of an improvisation--and lucky for me, it worked. I've seen a lot of recipes for ricotta, and it appears to me that milk + optional cream + acid + optional salt + heat = ricotta.

So, here's my attempt.

Ingredients
1/2 carton of organic milk*
1/4 carton of organic heavy cream
juice of one lemon

*The milk is 1%, because that's what I like to drink, so I had that in my fridge. I were buying milk for the sole purpose of making ricotta, I would probably use whole milk.

Fill a pot with ice or, if it fits, pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove ice if necessary.

Pour milk, cream, and lemon juice into the pot and without touching the bottom, stir for 5 minutes. (I have no idea why you aren't supposed to touch the bottom, but it was suggested in some recipes, so that's what I did.)

Place over low heat and cook for 50 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.

Turn up heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes. It's going to look like it's going to explode and you might get a few milk geysers, like in the video below, which in addition to being informative, is also a great for those suffering from insomnia. (Can you believe I didn't go to film school?) 

 If it starts to look like it's going to boil, turn down the heat a bit.

The milk proteins will separate and you will see the curds and whey now. 

(Pretty cool, huh?)

Remove from heat and let the curds and whey cool for 10 minutes.

Strain into a sieve lined with cheese cloth and let it sit for a few hours.

E presto! You have now made ricotta cheese. Now, don't you feel virtuous?